The Human Challenge: A Life Well Lived
by Lady Lark
Summary: Two warriors meet in the afterlife and find that they have more in common with the great heroes than they thought. ONE-SHOT


Disclaimer: Dragonball Z is owned by a lot of people not me. 

**A Human Challenge**   
_by Lady Lark_

~*~ 

Yamcha opened his eyes carefully and shook his head to clear his mind. The last thing he remembered clearly was Buu firing ki blasts at Dende's palace. He barely had time to grab Marron, Krillin's daughter, before turning his back to try to shield her. 

He hoped that he had succeeded in saving the child, but he doubted it when he looked at his surroundings. He was in a line of cloud-like beings waiting on the Great Snake Way. Apparently he had died . . . again. He looked down at himself, at least he still had his body. He hadn't planned on dying so soon. But then again at least he had had a chance at life, unlike so many other of Buu's victims. 

"Hey Yamcha!" 

The call pierced his thoughts. He turned to see the speaker, and a wide grin crossed his scarred face. 

"Krillin! Man, it is good see you!" he paused momentarily, thinking of his surroundings. "Well, all things considered," he finished, lamely. 

The short former monk flew over where he was standing. "Yeah, I am glad to see you too, bro," Krillin replied. 

"So what do we do now?" asked Yamcha curiously. "I mean, we can't go to King Kai's place since it was destroyed during the Cell Games. We both still have our bodies, so that means we aren't going to Heaven or the Home for Infinite Losers. . ." 

"Great Dende, Yamcha!" Krillin interrupted. "That phrase is so corny. Why can't you call it 'Hell' like everyone else?" 

Yamcha rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Sorry. But my mother always taught me not to use bad words, especially in front of children," he said by way of explanation, and he motioned with his arm to the long line of small clouds. 

"Oh," said Krillin softly. "Good point. There are probably kids in there too." It was a statement not a question. 

"It's almost a certainty. Buu killed anyone who crossed his path, it didn't matter if they were non-combatants or not." Seeing Krillin flinch, the tall, scarred warrior clasped his friend's shoulder firmly. "It's alright, bro, you just didn't think." 

"Yeah." 

Yamcha looked sharply at the shorter man. His head was lowered and his entire body seemed drawn in on itself. The former bandit knelt down in front of his friend and gave him a quick hug. "I'm sorry." No other words were necessary. Yamcha could relate to his younger friend, both of them had lost the people they had loved the most in the world. Yamcha: Bulma, despite their break up. Krillin: his family. 

Krillin didn't say anything but acknowledged the hug with short nod of his head. Uncomfortable silence permeated the air between the two friends. Yamcha stood up slowly, brushing his hands off on the soft cotton of his pants. He stopped. Looking down at his body; he realized that he was wearing his old gi from the Cell Games. He glanced at his friend. Krillin was still dressed in the same clothes he had worn for the tournament. Yamcha wracked his brain trying to think of a reason why he would be dressed in his old uniform and failed. 

Giving up, he asked is friend. "Uh, Krillin, do you know why I am dressed like this?" 

The shorter man looked up, his face streaked with tears. "What do you mean, Yamcha?" he asked confused. 

Yamcha felt his heart break at the monk's expression. But he decided that distracting his friend from his grief might be the best course of action, so he persevered. "Krillin, I was wearing a suit when I died, and now, I'm not," he explained patiently. 

Krillin rubbed his tattooed forehead thoughtfully. "Well, I got here before you did, Yamcha. So I've already had the chance to check in with King Enma. He said that we are going to join other great warriors from the various quadrants. Whatever that means." 

Yamcha grinned. "Really! Wow, that's great! I've always enjoyed training and to go up against the best in the universe, man, that's really an honor!" He glanced over at his companion and saw a spasm of pain cross the monk's face. "What's wrong, Krillin?" he asked. 

The man shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I guess I don't think I fit in with the 'universe's greatest warriors.' Gohan is so powerful, I mean, he beat Cell when he was only a kid! And Vegeta's so ruthless, I'm still afraid of him even after he's supposedly settled down. And Goku's always been the hero. No offense to him, he's my best friend and all, but I've felt left behind in the past few years. Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, hell even Trunks and Goten are all better fighters than I am. Now, I feel more like a flunky or the comic relief or even 'Mr. Exposition' than one of the 'real' warriors. I think that is why Tien and Chaotzu left, they didn't feel needed. But it may be just me. How do you feel about it?" 

Yamcha blinked in surprise and rubbed the back of his head. "I never really thought about it, to be honest. I've always thought of myself as one of Earth's Defenders. I'm part of a team, not comic relief or everyone's favorite bashing target. Heck, I used to be stronger than Goku. I even beat him the first time we met. So did Tien, Master Roshi, and Piccolo. And if you remember, he has never actually won a World's Strongest Fighter Tournament. The best he ever did was tie with Piccolo." He saw Krillin nod, so he continued. "I had some wild adventures and saved the world a few times without his help. How did you think I got these scars, cutting myself shaving?" he asked intently. 

Krillin shrugged. Yamcha gave him look of pure frustration. "I earned them, my friend. Just like Tien earned his third eye and you earned your monk's tattoos. You know, I bet that if you looked back on your life you would find that you weren't just the comic relief after all. You've been a monk and a warrior. You somehow managed to marry one of the most beautiful, not to mention the strongest, women on the planet. And, you are one heck of a father. I think that is pretty damn impressive," the older man asserted, willing the other man to realize his worthiness. 

Krillin's brow wrinkled in intense concentration as he digested Yamcha's words. As he worked his way through each of the points, his face brightened. "You know, I guess that you're right. Now that I think about it, we are pretty damn important. Goku probably wouldn't have made it as far without us." 

"Probably not." 

"You know Yamcha, I beginning to think that maybe we do deserve a place among 'the universe's greatest fighters.'" 

"Damn straight!" 

A grin split the former monk's face. "Thanks for cheering me up. We have a pretty long flight ahead of us. I think I'd like to know more about you." He paused and looked Yamcha up and down. "How did you ever become a professional baseball player?" 

Yamcha threw back his head and laughed. "I'll tell you about it so long as you tell me about how you managed to snag Eighteen. Agreed?" 

"Agreed," his friend answered. 

Smiles crossing their faces, the two men set off for the training grounds of great warriors. 

~*~ 

AN: Written as a Snippet introducing a contest a long time ago, I redid some of it and reposted it. I think it stands on its own quite nicely. I may expand this to incude two more chapters/segments and an epilogue. But that won't be for a while. 

There are a lot of little in-jokes for long time DBZ fans in the dialogue. I get a kick of Krillin calling himself "Mr. Exposition" or comic relief -- since that is really what his role is in a lot of DBZ. Krillin narrates the fights or provides exposition. Yamcha is probably the most reviled character in DBZ fandom when he really hasn't done anything to deserve it. 


End file.
